Deciphering the role of pH in the binding of Ciprofloxacin Hydrochloride to Bovine Serum Albumin

The effect of the added fluoroquinolone, Ciprofloxacin Hydrochloride (CpH), on structural properties of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) was investigated by Circular Dichroism (CD), steady-state, time-resolved and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) spectroscopic approaches. The intrinsic fluorescence of the Tryptophan (Trp) amino acid residue in the globular protein BSA was made use of and the effect of pH at two different temperatures was thoroughly investigated. CD results indicate that CpH induces some structural changes in BSA and this has been well-supported by steady-state, lifetime and DLS data. The fluorescence intensity of Trp gradually decreases with the rise in concentration of CpH and we have conclusively proved that at pH 7.4 and 9.2, the mechanism of fluorescence quenching is mostly dynamic in nature, whereas at pH 4.5 mainly static quenching is operational. Thermodynamic parameters have been studied to rationalize the nature of binding of CpH to BSA, and we have concluded that hydrophobic and van der Waals forces play an important role in the process of drug–protein interaction at three different pH values. The lifetime of Trp was found to decrease with the rise in CpH concentration and the percentage reduction in lifetime was found to be a function of the pH of the medium under investigation.